Chapter 244
“Wu Mo, we judges unanimously give you a perfect score!”
The fish in the lake quickly arranged themselves into the number ‘10’.
“Thank you for your guidance, elders.”
Li Mo clasped his claws together in a humble gesture, embodying the essence of a cultured dragon, well-versed in propriety.
Wu Qing exchanged a glance with Mu Rong Feng beside her, indicating that they wanted him to come find them after the preliminary selection.
Li Mo readily agreed.
Then came the long stretch of the preliminary rounds.
It wasn’t until nightfall that the twelve standout aquatic beings began their practical combat.
This practical combat wasn’t meant to determine rankings.
The goal was simply to showcase each contestant’s performance during the battles for the judges.
Guess what?
The young leader of the Xiang Liu clan and Li Mo actually had a chance to face off.
As they stepped onto the stage, the young leader of the Xiang Liu clan said:
“I see you’re young, so I won’t use my bloodline power against you. Let’s compete in strength instead?”
A chorus of boos erupted from the audience.
The demon clans, aside from their bloodline powers, also possessed formidable physical strength.
But clearly, Wu Mo relied on his bloodline; how could he possibly want to compete in physical strength?
Wasn’t this like an adult challenging a child to a strength contest?
He had no shame.
Li Mo felt a wave of relief wash over him.
His control over water vapor was weaker than that of the average Ming Jiao clan member; the earlier storm had seemed impressive, but it had little to do with him.
He was actually trying to find ways to avoid that aspect.
He hadn’t expected the young leader of the Xiang Liu clan to bring it up himself.
It just goes to show that having a big head doesn’t equal high intelligence...
“Alright then.”
“Ha ha ha... I’ll let you strike first, so I can see how you handle it.”
The young leader of the Xiang Liu clan laughed heartily.
“That’s what you said.”
Li Mo also smiled brightly.
The taste of the Nine Jiao Dragon Strength Pill... was truly delightful.
...
Days later.
News of a celestial dragon emerging from the Ming Jiao clan in the Heishui Marsh spread like wildfire across the southern demon clans.
Recently, with the passage of the Jiazi cycle and the return of the divine jade from beyond the heavens, the most pressing question for the southern clans was which clan would ultimately claim the divine jade, a matter that concerned every clan deeply.
The more outstanding a clan’s genius, the greater their chances of obtaining the divine jade.
Moreover, this celestial dragon from the Ming Jiao clan was akin to the Qing Luan goddess.
It had caused the young leader of the Xiang Liu clan to lose one of his heads.
And it was a head that had been smashed to bits.
The news took flight, quickly reaching the ears of the major clans.
The Qiongqi clan, the Dapeng clan, the Jinmao Hou clan, the Lu Wu clan, and...
The Qing Luan clan.
...
PS: I’ll skip the more typical plot points; writing the fight scenes is tedious, and it’s boring for everyone to read, so there’s no need to drag it out.
Is this a recharge? (flips the script) Is it a special treat brought to the little underdog by the audience?
---
Chapter 262: The Sun-Covering Golden Dapeng, I Want to Face You Head-On!
The Dapeng clan was located relatively close to the Heishui Marsh.
They were also the first to learn of the news.
“Recently, due to the gathering of the aquatic beings in the Heishui Marsh, a large amount of water vapor has accumulated, leading to several collisions with Dapengs during the heavy rainfall the other day.”
“In the coming days, there’s still a possibility of heavy to moderate rain. We advise ninth-grade Dapeng demons to refrain from flying, eighth-grade Dapengs to fly at their discretion, and seventh-grade and above Dapengs are permitted to take off...”
“The cause of the heavy rainfall has been identified as the emergence of a pure-blood celestial dragon from the Ming Jiao clan, whose bloodline power is formidable, and whose physique is terrifying, possibly indicating a return to the true dragon bloodline...”
“—This is the Golden Dapeng Weather Report.”
The Dapeng clan was also conducting their cloud selection.
The clouds in the sky had been reshaped by the powerful demons of the Dapeng clan into winding cloud paths, where the participating avian beings raced through at breakneck speed.
However, due to the heavy rain, there had been multiple incidents of Dapengs falling from the cloud paths recently.
“The Ming Jiao clan is truly bullying the birds!”
“Wu Mo? Where did this outsider dragon come from? Could it be that some old dragon is painting themselves green, pretending to be a pure dragon to compete?”
“Indeed, they’ve done that before.”
The avian clans were incensed.
Suddenly, a sigh came from nearby:
“Wu Mo really is from outside the southern region.”
“Oh? How do you know that?”
The avian beings turned to look.
Had the Ming Jiao clan’s water army infiltrated the Dapeng clan?
“Because I was the one who brought him to the Heishui Marsh.”
The bald-headed Dapeng demon pointed to the two large bumps on his head, speaking with conviction.
“...”
The Dapeng clan members looked on in disbelief.
Despite the bald-headed Dapeng demon’s pitiful appearance, he was a peak seventh-grade demon, and stepping into the sixth grade was not a problem; he even had the potential to become a fifth-grade great demon.
Just moments ago, he had completed the cloud path race in one minute and twenty-eight seconds.
And yet, he had been so thoroughly beaten by Wu Mo?
“Then it’s true that he smashed one of the young leader of the Xiang Liu clan’s heads?”
“Yeah... he probably held back when he hit me that day.”
“The Ming Jiao clan’s Wu Mo, I wonder how he compares to our clan’s Zhi Duo Luo.”
Whoosh—
As the avian clans were discussing, a figure streaked across the sky.
His speed was so fast that it created mushroom-shaped cloud rings, slicing through the sky and dispersing the dark clouds, as he zipped through the cloud path in an instant.
“One minute! The record for seventh-grade avian beings has been shattered again!”
The figure was a young man with a dark complexion, clad in golden armor, and sporting a pair of wings. He had a complete human form but retained some avian features.
Notably, his wings, eyes, and hair were all a light golden color.
He looked down at the other avian beings with a cold, emotionless gaze.
A half-demon Dapeng, Zhi Duo Luo.
“Wu Mo?”
“Is he the one who fought the dragon in the Heishui Marsh, disrupting the arrangements in the sect and causing me to lose a whole town’s worth of incense power?”
...
In the Qing Luan clan’s territory.
At this moment, in the largest tree hollow of the Lan Ye forest.
The young members of the Qing Luan clan had gathered there.
They looked at Shang Qin Qing on the stage, some with serious expressions, others with curious anticipation.
Bang—
Shang Qin Qing slammed the gavel on the table.
“Speaking of that celestial dragon from the Ming Jiao clan, his background is quite tragic. He’s a dragon who has struggled to survive in the human realm since childhood, with an injured father, a weak mother, a not-so-bright brother, and a shattered self...”
“His name is Wu~~~Mo!”
Hmm...
Since many members of the Qing Luan clan were unable to speak, making it difficult to communicate with the outside world, over time, they could easily develop issues with their Dao heart.
Thus, the clan leader would regularly share significant events happening in the southern region or small tidbits of news here.
This was commonly referred to as giving a sermon.
After finishing this sentence, Shang Qin Qing turned to see a girl not far away pouring tea over a large-headed doll.
She was of the human race.
Yet, sitting among the famously aloof and taciturn Qing Luan clan, she felt completely at ease.
“Wu... Mo?”
Ying Bing furrowed her brows slightly, softly murmuring the name.
In her memories from her previous life, there hadn’t been a genius named Wu Mo in the Ming Jiao clan.
But she couldn’t possibly be mistaken about this name...
“Yet he still traveled thousands of miles to the southern region and made a stunning debut in the aquatic selection, calling forth unprecedented storms!”
“Who would have thought that the young leader of the Xiang Liu clan would act unethically, trying to bully the weak...”
The attentive members of the Qing Luan clan felt a strong sense of empathy.
The avian beings disliked rain.
But compared to the Ming Jiao clan, they found the Xiang Liu clan even more detestable.
After all, the former merely made the air a bit more humid and brought more rain, while the latter caused significant harm to the southern region’s environment, leaving desolation in their wake, turning even the clearest water sources into toxic sludge.
“Who would have guessed that Wu Mo not only had a powerful physique but had also trained in martial arts in the human realm!”
“With just a flick of his sleeve, he smashed one of the young leader of the Xiang Liu clan’s heads, then completely disregarded the principles of martial arts, launching a flurry of rapid strikes!”
“It’s clear that while he learned martial arts, he didn’t grasp the ethics of martial arts...”
The sound of wings flapping echoed as the crowd applauded.
After the applause subsided, many of the birds subtly turned their gazes toward Ying Bing.
The emergence of a genius from the Ming Jiao clan was not good news for them; it meant that the competition for the divine jade had gained another formidable opponent.
Moreover, Wu Mo had, like the goddess, smashed one of the young leader of the Xiang Liu clan’s heads.
But upon seeing the girl sitting there, the birds couldn’t help but feel that their worries were unfounded.
She was simply too radiant.
Shang Qin Qing sat down across from Ying Bing and asked with a smile:
“The aquatic beings and our avian clan have a long-standing grudge. So, do you feel confident?”
“Mm.”
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